Older drivers with glaucoma are more likely to be involved in road accidents, according to new research carried out by Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
The four-year analysis looked at the relationship between moderate glaucoma and motor vehicle accidents. Of 142 patients with moderate glaucoma and a mean age of 64 who drove, almost 11% reported being involved in an accident over the course of the study. In contrast, only 1.1% of all drivers aged over 61 reported involvement in a road accident in a 2017 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics report.
‘Our study found seven to 10 participants each year reported they gave up driving due to vision over the four years, with a total of 25% of patients over the course of the study turning in their car keys,’ said co-author of the study Sheryl Wizov.